If your company is expanding its business internationally, you might be considering bringing foreign workers to your headquarters or sending expatriates to a foreign location. Assuming you're ready to announce an open position to foreign candidates, there are four steps you'll want to follow:
1. Do your research.
Research how local companies view the job process. Think global, act local. Specifically, you'll need to know how candidates apply for jobs, their preferred method of doing so and what they expect from their employers. For example, in France salaries are quoted in either BRUT (before taxes) or NET (after taxes).
2. Consider compensation expectations.
Know what these candidates are worth in their home country. Candidates have certain expectations when it comes to a job offer. Determine a reasonable method to communicate the feasible compensation you can offer. Then, start plugging in the factors you'll need to consider before bringing a candidate on board, including:
- Base salary.
- Retirement contributions.
- Profit sharing or annual bonus.
- Merit increases.
- Relocation costs.
- Logistics such as cost-of-living adjustments.
3. Think about benefits offerings.
Obviously, health insurance is one of the largest benefits considerations for candidates, but there are others, such as:
- Dental, vision, life and disability.
- Employee assistance program.
- Cultural transition assistance.
- Language courses and training.
- Legal assistance.
- Additional vacation time for returning to the home country.
- Family benefits for spouse and children (schooling, language classes, financial assistance or career counseling).
4. Plot out career development.
Some of the most common reasons foreign assignments fail include family issues or lack of clarity in career development of the foreign worker. Talk about your company's philosophy on professional development, but be careful not to offer concrete timetables for career milestone like promotions or salary increases that the company may not be able to deliver.
Contributing Editor Emily Chardac has spent more than four years in an international recruitment office serving individuals of more than 80 nationalities. She's been working in the international HR/benefits field since 2007. She holds a Master's in HR with a focus on international business and French. Chardac can be reached at
